


Not As It Seems Part XIV

by eliniel



Series: Emet-Selch/WoL [18]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Halloween, Haunted House, Silly, all saint's wake, scaring children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 19:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21081629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliniel/pseuds/eliniel
Summary: As All Saint's Wake approaches on the Source, the Warrior of Light decides a haunted house is the perfect way to celebrate the holiday.





	Not As It Seems Part XIV

**Author's Note:**

> Crystal (lakesideminuet) came up with the idea.   
[My WoL's costume](https://imgur.com/a/rHafqCn)

I stood at the foot of my bed, inspecting the outfit I’d laid out, a hand to my chin in thought. The door to my inn room opened and I looked over my shoulder as the Ascian made his way in. He came to a stop next to me.

“What, in Zodiark’s name, is that?”

“Hmm,” I hummed and leaned over to pick up the white pumpkin head I’d set out. “All Saints’ Wake is coming up on the Source.”

“And what does that have to do with…,” he paused, unsure of what to make of the clothes. He waved his hands in the outfit’s direction. “With this?”

“It’s a custom to dress up in a costume.” I set the mask back down on the bed again. “This is what I usually wear, though I was thinking about changing it up.”

“What is its purpose?”

“Haven’t I told you before? Not everything has to have a point. Though,” I started, with a fond chuckle. “I do love scaring the kids.”

Emet-Selch raised his brow. “You...like scaring children?” His tone was incredulous. 

“Sure,” I said, grinning. “On All Saints’ Wake, it’s almost expected.” He put a hand to his chin as he took me in. “I was thinking of maybe setting something up this year.”

“Setting something up?”

“Like a...like a house haunted with spirits.” I tilted my head to the side. “I could very well use my own house.”

When I looked back at him, his brow was furrowed. I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning on one leg and scoffed.

“All that time on the Source and you have no idea what All Saints’ Wake is, do you?”

Indignation passed over his face for a moment before he shrugged, suddenly looking bored. “Why would I give a care to Eorzean customs while being the ruling party of  _ Garlemald _ .”

I breathed a laugh and shook my head, leaning down to pick up my Grand Company uniform and went to hang it back up, then sat on the bed and patted the space next to me. 

“The legend goes,” I began as he removed his coat and dropped down on to the mattress. “That the Twelve invite the saints to a grand feast one night every year. But, while they are gone, their protection over the world is gone, inviting all sorts of demons and other creatures to descend upon the realm and wreak havoc on its people.” He laid down on his side, supporting himself with one elbow.

“As the citizens take refuge in their homes for the night, the Adventurer’s Guild I joined always took part in gathering these creatures and returning them to their imprisonment.” He looked at me, confusion written on his face.

“And what do the children have to do with this, if they are safely in their homes?”

“Well, the nights leading up to the Wake, we throw a festival for the saints who are invited to meet with the Gods. Children dress up in costumes and go house-to-house to collect candy.” He shook his head.

“Your customs are strange, hero.” I huffed a laugh at him. 

“I suppose when it’s all you’ve ever known, it doesn’t seem strange.” I shrugged and laid down next to him. I stared up at the ceiling and we were quiet for a long while. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head and I sat up quickly, surprising the Ascian next to me. I turned to him with a wide smile.

“You could be in my haunted house!” I exclaimed, explaining my sudden outburst. “When you go without a body, those without the Echo can’t see you, right?” He narrowed his eyes at me.

“Whatever you’re scheming, the answer is no.” I pouted and he rolled his eyes.

“You don’t even know what it is yet.” He gave me a look that made me giggle. “Don’t be so serious. It’s meant to be  _ fun _ .” I leaned down close to his face. “Besides, I think you’d enjoy scaring the kids.”

“And what, exactly, does  _ scaring kids _ entail, hero?” I put a finger to my lips in thought and leaned back again.

“I suppose you could just appear in your Ascian form,” I told him. “A few of the children should be able to see you, so maybe throw in a bit of your arcane magic for show.” He watched me for a few moments, taking in my excitement, then sighed.

“Fine, I will attend to see what this festival is all about. But, I make no promises of putting on an act.”

A sly smile appeared on my face, then. He raised a brow at me and I leaned forward, leaving a lingering kiss on his lips. “I promise it will be fun.”

A few weeks later, after multiple visits to the Source to decorate and ready my house, Emet-Selch and I stood outside the front door, examining my work. 

“I don’t find this particularly...terrifying,” he noted as he took in the decorated front lawn. I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips.

“It’s not meant to scare adults, you know.” I placed my hand on his back and nudged him towards the door. “Go on,” I ordered. “They’ll start arriving soon.” He clicked his tongue at my audacity, but moved put his hood back over his head and went to the place I’d designated for him.

He still seemed reluctant, no matter all his talk about  _ cooperation _ , but at the very least he would experience another one of my customs for himself. I sighed and shook my head before lifting the enchanted pumpkin over my head and prepared for the night to begin. 

When I brought in the first group of costumed children, I laughed as a few of the jump-scares I orchestrated around the house elicited small screams from them, but when I passed by the Ascian, he was sitting in a chair, a book from my library open in his lap. 

I stopped, lifting a brow at him, though I knew with my mask he couldn’t see my face. When he noticed me, he looked up and smirked at me before going back to his book. I shook my head and watched as he turned a page.

“What is this supposed to be?” one of the kids asked. I knelt on one knee next to him, an idea blossoming in my mind. 

“You don’t see the spirit sitting in that chair?” He looked at me incredulously. “Really, he’s there. Do you think those pages are turning by themselves?” I pointed as Emet-Selch turned another page. He looked up at me again. 

“That’s just the breeze,” the child shot back at me, so serious I nearly scoffed at him. But one of the others stepped forward and pointed as well.

“No!” he cried. “Look!”

When I focused on the Ascian again, he stood up, closing the book. He snapped, summoning a pen to his hand. He walked up to the kid and forcefully took his arm.

“Wait-,” I started to protest, but it was drowned out by the frightened gasps around me as the child stumbled forward. When the pen started scratching against the boy’s skin, many of the kids screamed and ran off. 

When Emet-Selch had finished, he smirked at me again, then headed back to his chair and his book.

The kid stood frozen, staring at his palm, his whole body trembling.

“Wh-wh-wh-,” he stuttered, but was unable to finish his sentence, tears welling in his eyes, before he took off down the stairs and out of the house.

My mouth dropped opened as I watched him, then turned back to the Ascian as I tore the pumpkin from my head.

“What in the seven Hells did you write?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “All I wrote was ‘Yes, but can the wind do this?’” He chuckled to himself and a laugh rose out of my chest as well.

“See, I told you it would be fun,” I said, pointedly with a raised brow, and dropped the mask back on my head.

A while later, a group of siblings travelled into the house, most of them older and curious about the screams they were hearing from down the street. They had a young girl in tow, dressed as a marmot. 

As I led them through the house, they were murmuring about how they didn’t understand why my house was getting so much attention. Finally, we happened upon Emet-Selch’s room and the oldest sighed.

“Is this going to get any better at some point?” he asked, then looked down at his small sister, who had pulled her hand out of his and was walking forwards. “Nelly, where are you-”

“Who are you?” her sweet voice asked as she approached the Ascian. He closed his book and bent down to her level with a small smile, looking her up and down before tilting his head towards me again.

“This one has the Echo, hero.”

“The Echo?” she inquired, holding a finger up to her mouth. I went and took a knee next to her. 

“You can see him?” I asked her, conspiratorially. She nodded with enthusiasm. 

“Nelly, who are you talking to?” The little girl turned back to her siblings and shrugged her shoulders.

“Just the man standing here.”

The kids snickered around her and she frowned. “Looks like the runt’s making things up again, guys!” The girl puffed up in indignation, her eyes welling with water.

“I am not! I swear! He’s right there!” She pointed at him again. I frowned at the older children as they taunted and laughed at her. Emet-Selch took her small hand in his clawed glove and she turned back to him.

“They call you runt? Do they always pick on you, young one?”

With a trembling bottom lip, she nodded. I put my hand on her back. 

“Do you often see things they do not? Is that why they make fun of you?” 

Another nod. 

“You believe me, don’t you?” her tiny, unsteady voice asked as the other kids continued making jokes about her myriad of imaginary friends. The Ascian smiled at her again. 

“We believe you.” She visibly relaxed. “Would you like to play along in a little prank?”

“Come on, Nelly, let’s get out of this dumb house,” one of her older brothers ordered once they’d had their fill. He reached down for her hand, but Emet-Selch lifted her up by the waist and set her on his shoulders. 

I stood again and he nodded towards the door as the older kids watched in frightened awe, mouths hanging open. I moved quickly as he whispered what to say into Nelly’s ear.

“You don’t get to bully me anymore!” she said, small voice dominating, the little light left in the room snuffing out. 

“Oh Gods, she’s possessed!” 

One of the sisters turned to take off out the door, but I quickly slammed it shut. With a snap of the Emet-Selch’s fingers, I watched as the smile on my pumpkin head grew wider and flames shot out from the eyes and mouth. The girl took a step backwards as I blocked the door, bumping into her siblings and nearly stumbling to the floor. 

The group turned back to the youngest, her eyes now glowing red. Gasps and cries came from them as the Ascian started walking towards them, a wide, maniacal grin on his face. With nowhere to flee, they cowered together.

With another snap, buckets of water appeared above them and dumped their contents over the kids’ heads. 

Shock and silence fell around the room. At the behest of Emet-Selch, Nelly’s eyes stopped glowing and my mask returned to normal. Light filtered back into the room as they all sat still, breathing hard.

“Let that be a lesson to you,” he said in a booming, amplified voice that he made sure everyone in the room could hear. 

“C-c-come on, let’s get out of here!” one of the boys shouted and scrambled for the door. I opened it again and they took off, down the stairs and straight out the front door, entirely missing the bowl of candy I’d set out. The Ascian set the small child down on the floor again.

“Go on, then,” he said, nudging her towards the entrance. “You’d better catch up to them.”

“Thank you!” she said, sweetly, with a smug smile on her face.

“Made sure to get some candy on the way,” I said to her when she passed.

I crossed my arms over my chest and watched as she skipped down the stairs and out of my house, laughing quietly.

“I thought you weren’t going to participate,” I said to him, looking over my shoulder. He came up behind me, plucking the pumpkin head off of my shoulders. He tucked it under his arm and shrugged.

“What can I say? I have a soft spot for young children.” He wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me into him, leaning into me to leave a small kiss on my cheek. I glanced toward the clock on the wall before I turned to him, easily lifting the mask off of his face.

“Well, I’d say the haunted house was a success. What do you say we retire for the night?”

With a snap, the front door to my house closed and the lights outside extinguished. He let my mask drop to the floor as he dipped down to pick me up, eliciting a surprised squeal from me. Holding me tight, he pulled me close, pressing his lips against mine, before pulling away and walking us towards the bedroom.

“Yes, let’s,” he agreed, a smug smile appearing on his face. “You should wear the pumpkin, though. I actually quite like it.”

I burst into laughter as he dumped me into bed, then gripped the fabric of his robes and pulled him down with me.


End file.
